Who ya gonna call?

Canterbury is a great place in which to do business. With around 650 individual businesses within the city walls we have a great mix of national, international and local independent businesses: around 46% of our businesses are independent!

Here at the BID, we know that sometimes you just need to know who to call to sort out issues that can arise, from rubbish removal to support for your business.

Below you will find information on who does what in the city and who to call. To request a hard copy, email us on enquiries@canterburybid.co.uk or ring 01227 787 055.

Security

Calling the Police

When to call 101Call 101 when reporting a crime and other concerns that don’trequire an emergency response. For example:

Your car has been stolen

Your property has been damaged

You suspect drug use or dealing

Give the police information on crime

Speak to the police about a general enquiry

Calls to 101 are answered by police officers and staff in the control room of the local police force. This ensures staff with local knowledge can answer and deal with calls appropriately.

When to call 999Always call 999 when it is an emergency, such as when a crime is in progress, someone suspected of a crime is nearby, when there is danger to life or when violence is being used or threatened.

District Watch

The local Business Crime Prevention partnership, District Watch operates a membership based radio link scheme across the city centre to reduce crime and keep the city safe.

Major incidents:City Centre evacuation and Business Continuity:

Major incidents cannot always be predicted and the response depends on the nature of the threat.The City Council leads on multi-agency planning, and all responding agencies have individual response plans in place. It is also recommended that all businesses ensure they have Business Continuity plans to help with the recovery from a potential incident.

Business Support

Promotion on MyCanterbury

The BID runs MyCanterbury, which is a website, app and series of printed City Guides which replaced the old-style Residents Card. It’s a way of joining up businesses and customers; for businesses, it’s easy to use, cheap and immediate.In the last 2 years, almost 300 local businesses have registered with us. This allows their store or service to be found by our app and website users. We are really pleased to inform you that from 1st March 2017, you will be able to access the £25/month MyCanterbury package – for FREE. Find out more here.

Utility advice

Local company, ZTP, help BID levy payers reduce their utility bills where possible. They offer a free utility cost evaluation service for BID businesses and no fee is charged by ZTP to BID levy payers. This service is part of making Canterbury a Great Centre for Business. There are over 650 businesses in the BID area and we want to help you survive and thrive.

ZTP are an Energy Management business with offices in the Canterbury BID area and London. They have already helped over 20 BID businesses save money on utilities – an average annual savings of over £1,000 per site. This is a free, no obligation service. Find out more here.

Startmybiz and Growmybiz

Local support services for business based at Canterbury City Council with information on everything you need to start and grow your business.

Business Rates

Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB)

“Behaviour by a person which is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as the person.”

In Canterbury, this can include aggressive behaviour, swearing in public, begging, grafﬁti, busking in contravention of the local voluntary code (too loud, persistent, poor quality) or driving/cycling through the city outside permitted hours. In most cases, you will call 101 to report this type of behaviour and even though it is unlikely you will get an immediate response, it is important that a record is made of these instances for future reference. If you or a member of your staff feel threatened however, call 999. Report it Canterbury City Council has a Report It page on their website so you can give them details of the issue. Go to:

Street Begging is common in the city centre and is likely to be made an offence under the new Public Space Protection Order(PSPO). The organisations who work with people on the street all say that giving to beggars,while a matter of individual choice, actually does more harm than good, enabling individuals to continue lifestyles, often with signiﬁcant substance abuse, rather than seeking help and support. The BID runs the MyCanterbury platform and donations can be made through via the website (search for Givelocal or click here). All the money is divided between Catching Lives and Porchlight with no administration fee.

Transport & Access

Car parking

Car parking is owned and managed by the City Council, with the exception of the Whitefriars car park which is managed by Whitefriars. Prices range from £1.40 per hour- £1.80 per hour, with the three Park & Ride sites offering £3 all day up to 4pm.

RinGo

RinGo operates in the city centre and enables customers to ‘top up’ their parking ticket so they can stay longer and avoid fines:call 01227 802804 and use the reference number for the relevant car park:

The City Council is trialling Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) in Pound Lane car park; this will be evaluated and, if successful, rolled out across the city. Register for an account here.

Traffic regulations:

Canterbury city centre is a pedestrian friendly area and vehicles and cycles are only allowed access at certain times as follows*:

High Street from Rose Lane to the Westgate: before 10.30am and after 4.30pm. Exemptions for emergency services, cash in transit and designated residents.

Canterbury City Council: 01227 862000

Kent County Council(Highways Authority): 08458 247 247

Homelessness

It is common to see people sleeping rough in the city centre. Numbers have increased nationally in recent years and Canterbury has seen that growth locally. However, a significant effort is made in the city to support people who find themselves in this situation.

In addition to the City Council, Canterbury has two organisations which deal with this issue, Catching Lives who run the Day Centre at the East Station and Porchlight which manages a range of programmes and accommodation schemes to help vulnerable individuals in the city and across the county. To donate to both these excellent charities go to the #Givelocal sectionMyCanterburywebsite or click here.

If you are concerned about an individual you see sleeping rough in the city or have issues with persistentrough sleeping on or near your premises then call the Helpline on: 07565 867091 or email outreach@catchinglives.org

Health & Safety

Street Cleaning, Waste Removal & Trade Waste

Serco is the City Council contractor for all street cleaning and waste collection in the District, including the city centre. Trade waste is the responsibility of individual businesses and Serco offer this service commercially as well. Serco also offer a graffiti cleaning service on behalf of the City Council, which is free forthe first two hours or 5 square metres. Here is where to apply for that service:

To report a problem with cleansing in the city centre, including graffiti, over flowing bins or poor cleansing, or safety issues (e.g. discarded hypodermic needles) call 0800 031 9091.

WELCOME

Canterbury Connected Business Improvement District (BID) is an independent, business-led, not-for-profit initiative voted for by the businesses of Canterbury on the 18th July 2014 to ensure continued investment in Canterbury City Centre. Our mission is to help make Canterbury a vibrant, exciting, well connected and successful business community; an attractive, clean, green, safe and enjoyable destination for customers and clients, shoppers and staff, residents, students and visitors; and a profitable place in which to do business.